Notes

How I became the 'Flying Tailor'...

Your upbringing is the most effective manner to shape a young boy into a man. Even from a young age, my parents educated me about the finer things in life. At the age of five years old, I had already tasted my first Cheval Blanc. Good taste, etiquettes and the talent for sales were just always a part of my life. It wasn’t until the 90s, however, until I could really put them to use as the Flying Tailor.

Before we’ll dive into how I obtained the licence of Butch Tailors and created the most incredible job imaginable, I’d like to go back further in time. During my student years, I already sold Armani, Trussardi and Versace suits from my dorm. From the profit I made, I travelled to Milan and imported the exclusive clothing that weren’t available in Belgium back in a suitcase. I would always know who I’d be selling to, learned the ability to scan someone’s size on sight, and made a pretty good margin on the sale as well.

After I got a taste of sales in my dorm years, I started working with my brother. I made Omega Pharma their first 20 million in sales. Don’t imagine any high-end luxury during those days: I would leave early in the morning in a filled-up rusty Renault. When I’d come back late at night, that trunk would be completely empty. Pure rock & roll!

Let’s go back even further in time. The year is 1956, and the Brussels based family Daman founded Butch Tailors as the reference in Belgian sartorial dressing. It peaked in the 60s with 10 stores, then lost its touch and was sold to a West-Flemish company in the 70s. It’s funny how fast things can go wrong. In the 90s, almost two decades later, it landed into my own hands after even that company didn’t know what to do with it.

In hindsight, life had always prepared me for the life as a Flying Tailor. These days, I couldn’t imagine it any other way. As I said before: good taste, etiquettes and the talent for sales were just always a part of my life.